Figs are a sweet treat that is usually grown in a warm climate. As cold climate gardeners, figs usually do not even cross our minds until someone shares on social media something about their figs. Growing figs in a cold climate is possible. We get asked a lot about how we grow figs, so here we share ...
Container Gardening
Permaculture Design Project
The Permaculture Design Project was my final project for the permaculture design course. I finished it in the spring of last year and got my Permaculture Design Certificate. Summer was busy realizing the design, and as promised we are finely sharing it here on the blog. My goal is to share ...
Indoor Decorative Plants
Here at Northern Homestead, we talk about indoor plants a lot, and we usually mean edible plants. Today we want to discuss indoor decorative plants deviating from our usual growing an indoor edible garden. Decorative houseplants have their place too. And we grow lots of them. The many pictures will ...
Raised Garden Beds vs Container Gardens
Raised garden beds have gained popularity, especially by new gardeners. However, there seems to be confusion about raised garden beds vs container gardens. They often look the same, but they are fundamentally different. We wanted to explain it in this blog article. A raised garden bed is ...
Soil For Seedlings, Container Gardening, and Raised Beds
Good soil is essential for healthy plants. Soil for seedlings, container gardening, and raised beds is different than the dirt in your garden. Container gardening soil needs to be light, be able to retain moisture, and have enough nutrients to keep the plant growing. Here we share two ...
Growing an indoor edible garden in soil
In this post, we talk about growing an indoor edible garden in soil. In our outdoor garden, growing in good organic soil is our very first choice. In an indoor garden, however, it is not our first choice. Why is that? Success and failure in growing great plants depend mostly on the ...
Planting a Hydroponic Garden
All growth begins with planting, including hydroponic gardens which are not much different from conventional soil planting. Starting plants from seeds is a beloved aspect of gardening. With discovering hydroponics and indoor gardening a whole new gardening world opened up to us. Now planting a ...
Growing an indoor edible window garden in water
Growing an indoor edible window garden in water instead of soil opens a whole new world of indoor gardening. Growing plants in water is called hydroponics, here plant nutrients are distributed via water. The word "hydro" simply means water, hence hydroponics. The benefits of growing an indoor ...
Wicking Bed for the Greenhouse
We are in the fourth year of garage greenhouse/growing room growing where we grow food year-round. You can read more about it here. A very important part of a greenhouse is the soil to grow plants in. Since our garage greenhouse, has no soil, we had to come up with a good alternative ...
Growing Aloe Vera in Cold Climate
Aloe Vera is one of the most well-known and used medicinal plant. The benefits of Aloe Vera are almost endless, a real must have plant in your garden. But the plant is only hardy to zones 8–11 and loves well drained soil. Not a good fit for a cold climate, to say the least. Still, we too can grow ...